Although the scope of the present invention is broader than a comparison between narrow-band land-based communication links and broadband broadcast transmission of data, that comparison is convenient for the purpose of illustrating embodiments of the invention, and is used extensively below.
The Internet is a global matrix of linked computers and file servers providing a virtually unlimited pool of knowledge to any user who has a connection for access. The state of the Internet is one that is constantly evolving and changing both in scope and technology. What has evolved from a type of military infrastructure, has become a largely civilian super-structure allowing exchange of information to take place rapidly from almost any location in the world.
At the time of the present patent application, Internet infrastructures are largely land-based, transmitting data over digital links and analog lines and the like. The typical user connections for the land-based infrastructure include a telephone line, a modem and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) through which the service is provided. Generally speaking, the connective elements described immediately above are all that is required for a user to receive the basic capability to access the Internet provided the user has a PC with at least minimum system requirements.
Given the ever-changing technological face of the Internet, it is not surprising that there have been many new developments in the methods of access and communication. For example, there are now satellite systems that allow a user access the Internet and receive information via broadcast into a satellite modem linked to the user's PC. One such satellite-based product is being introduced into new car models, giving the user the capability of accessing the Internet while mobile. As well, various other wireless systems are being developed and tested in the hopes of utilizing increased bandwidth capabilities and bypassing older, less reliable types of analog lines that are currently in place.
Digital information transferred over the Internet is transmitted in what are known in the art as data packets. These data packets vary in size and several packets may comprise one document in the form of a Web page to be viewed by the user, for example. If a particular file contains a large amount of graphics, larger individual data packets may be required creating a slower download time on the user's end before he or she can view the entire page on the receiving station. Similarly, video files and sound files comprise large packets of information, take up considerable memory contributing to long download times. A typical user having a PC that is rated as minimum in terms of system requirements for downloading such material, can find accessing the Internet and downloading material to be frustrating. In many cases, PC systems can lock-up on the user's end requiring a re-boot to re-connect. Accessing some files can take several minutes or more and may cause the user to abort the download for lack of patience.
While technological improvements have been made to alleviate congestion and bottlenecks that may occur due to increased network traffic, such as replacing older lines and connections with those capable of transmission at a higher bandwidth, these types of improvements are not generally found over an entire infrastructure. Modems that can download material at higher speeds are now available as well, however, many existing lines cannot carry the information at the modem's highest speed. For example, if a user installs a 56 kilobytes per second (Kbps) modem, he may still, depending on the quality of line and the speed at which the data was sent, only realize a slight increase in the time it takes to download the particular files. Compression of files is sometimes used as a technique to enable faster download times, but this expedient requires the user to have the appropriate software to decompress that particular file type. Often different software applications must be purchased by the user in order to decompress differing file types and so on. Many of these improvements cost the user in terms of the money and time spent to install and operate them.
There are, as described above, various satellite systems that have been developed and tested for Internet communication that can significantly increase the capacity of distributing large packets of information by virtue of a significantly higher bandwidth capability when compared to land-based systems. The information can be received by a user connected to a special satellite modem and receiver dish that captures transmitted information that is broadcast on a specific channel to which the user's modem is tuned. One problem with this method is that anyone with a suitable receiver can intercept transmissions, which makes privacy an issue. Also, broadcast interference caused by another broadcasting source is always possible. A further problem is that in the case of a large number of subscribers to such a system, available bandwidth can be reduced by a large number of users sharing the broadcast system.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus including software wherein a user can be connected both to a low-bandwidth system, such as a typical land-based modem connection through the public switched telephone network, and to a high-bandwidth delivery system, such a cable TV or a satellite system simultaneously so as to be able to receive information at a high rate without losing any security features inherent to the land-based system, and to enable a situation where information to be transmitted could be sent in the most efficient manner. Such a system would be enhanced with a software designed to detect and utilize the fastest route back to the user based on real-time analysis at the point of transmission of the fastest route for each packet sent.